Merry Christmas, Harry
by luckintheair04
Summary: Harry is surprised by a late night visit by Hermione when he chooses to stay alone at Grimmauld Place. She quickly makes herself home as they chat over tea and Harry can't help notice how much their relationship has changed as Hermione gets really comfortable with him. And was she wearing a skirt or a pair of shorts underneath her top? She couldn't be wearing only her underwear...


**Just a little Christmas treat from me to you. Hope you enjoy!**

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"I hope you don't mind me visiting you." Hermione smiled sweetly as she shrugged off her coat. She hung it inside a nearby closet.

Harry simply stared, before realizing that he was supposed to reply. He was still wrapping his head around the fact that Hermione had come back from Hogwarts straight to Number 12 Grimmauld Place for Christmas. It was really late too. Did the train get this late, coming from Hogwarts?

"Of course not." He said, eyeing his friend. She seemed to have gained a bit of weight since the end of the war, now her cheeks rosy, her hips curvy (or is it because of her skirt?) instead of her pale and bony look. "It's a pleasant surprise, actually." He said as he responded the quick hug she gave him. The last time they had hugged, she had held to him for a long time, sobbing on his shoulder with relief. The last time he had seen her she had looked at him in a different way, he couldn't explain. And now she was here, with him, alone.

"I just had to come here after Ron wrote to me that his family's spending Christmas at their Aunt Muriel's this year and that you were planning to hole yourself up here alone." Hermione chatted merrily as she made her way to the kitchen to place the bags that contained whatever the goodies she had brought with her. Harry suspected that it also bagged his Christmas gift as well and couldn't help feeling slightly excited about it. Hermione often managed to get him the best but also the most useful gifts.

"Thanks. You really didn't have to though." He quickly started to explain as he noticed Hermione's glare. "Not that I don't want you here. I mean, don't you want to spend your time with your parents?" He suggested almost timidly, scratching his cheek. He needed a shave, he decided.

Hermione went to the kitchen counter as she took boxes of pastries from the plastic bag she had bought from the Hogsmeade bakery.

"I actually was planning to visit them in the evening tomorrow." She said with a smile. She always wore that smile when she talked about her parents, ever since she got the memory charm off from them. It was a simple smile but bright, relieved and lovely. Harry could get lost in it if he wanted to.

"Oh okay. Great." He nodded. They remained in silence for a while as they looked at each other from the opposite ends of the kitchen, in their own thoughts, noticing how much the other had changed. Recently they often had those silences, comfortable silences, where they looked at each other, taking the other person in to their mind, etching it. Their eyes met.

"Shall I make some tea?" Hermione suggested, straightening herself up, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. He wasn't sure whether she was blushing or not because of the dim lights in the kitchen.

"Oh no, you will do nothing." Harry fussed walking towards the counter. "You're the guest here. Let me make…"

"It's fine, Harry. I think I'm best at making the tea." She said opening the cupboards to grab two mugs for them. She felt Harry's body brush against her back from behind her as he took the two mugs from her hands. He felt her instinctively lean against him. When had they started to get this physically comfortable? Harry couldn't remember. Maybe ever since they were stranded camping last year when Ron left.

"You seem to forget that I made tea for the Dursleys every morning when I used to stay with them." He said, looking down at her before walking off to place the mugs on the table. He filled the kettle with some water and placed it on the stove to boil.

Hermione sighed. "Stubborn as ever."

"You're one to talk." He snorted. "You should go unpack or something. I know that little bag of yours have all the clothes in it." He nodded at the familiar beaded bag that slung on her shoulder.

She shook her head amused as she left the kitchen to unpack as Harry suggested and refresh a bit.

Harry was carrying two steaming mugs of tea to the living room when Hermione came back, her bushy hair looking slightly wet, and donned with a big Gryffindor sweater (Probably one of Ron's, Harry's or the Weasley twin's Quiddich ones). Was she wearing a skirt or a pair of shorts? He didn't know for all he could see were two creamy legs with mismatched knee socks coming out from where the hem of the sweater ended. And he blushed at the thought of finding out.

"Let's sit in front of the fire." She suggested, taking her mug from his hands.

He followed her to the dark living room as he watched Hermione light up the lamps and the fire. She slowly got down on the carpet covered floor in front of the fireplace and patted the spot beside her to indicate Harry to sit. Harry obliged. His knees brushed hers as he crossed his legs. She inched closer to him for warmth and rested her mug on his knee, before taking a sip from it.

"Mmmm. This is actually really, really good." Hermione complimented.

"Told you." Harry said, with a grin. "Never underestimate me."

Hermione smiled. "I obviously should know this by now."

"So….. Ron wrote to you?" he said with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh don't give me that look." She chided. "I told you everything was fine between us." Harry snorted.

"You guys hardly talked after that…. That…" Harry wasn't sure what to call the fall out that had happened between Ron and Hermione after they had got together at the end of the war. He had once again been the awkward friend who refrained from taking sides and frustrated about their childishness.

"It just needed time to settle down." She explained, as if she had known that all along. Harry begged to differ.

"So you just decided to write him out of the blue?" He asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Actually." Hermione said with a tinge of pink on her cheeks. "He wrote to me first."

"Wow, Ickle Ronniekins all grown up." Harry chuckled, though he was quite surprised. It wasn't often you heard Ron being the mature one. It was usually, no, _always_ Hermione who tried to end any argument even though she was very stubborn.

"Oh shush, you." She punched his arm. His arm sent shivers through his body. He tried not to think about it.

They watched the fire crack and hiss as they drank their tea in silence. Hermione was absently drawing patterns on his knee, and Harry was thinking of Ron when his mind wandered of to his best friends sister.

"How's Ginny?" Harry dared to ask.

Hermione looked at him and noticed that he was determined to keep his eyes on the fire. "She's doing fine." She said softly. "Dating Dean Thomas again. She sometimes talks randomly about you and Ron."

Harry cast his eyes downwards at the news that Ginny was dating Dean. He wasn't heartbroken but he felt bitter that she had being able to move on quickly. He probably needed to get out more often and be willing to meet new people more.

"We missed you." Hermione said, drinking the last bit of her tea. "_I _missed you." She said with a smile as she looked up at Harry. It somehow satisfied him, the way she said it.

"Same." Harry said looking down at her. He blinked. "But , you. I mean, about you. As in, I missed you." He flushed and stumbled and Hermione giggled lightly at his clumsy words. She reached up and kissed his lips, almost playfully or adoringly. He hadn't realized how close their faces had been until she had done so. Startled, Harry held on to her kiss till her lips left.

He blinked at his bushy haired friend.

"Do you want your present?" she asked instead of giving an explanation to her spontaneous kiss. That was very much unlike her but Harry decided not to press it.

"Sure." Harry replied, still dazed but now wishing he had kissed her back properly. Cause, Merlin, her lips had been wonderful while it lasted. He watched her collect his empty mug and go to the kitchen to leave it along with her mug. Then he heard her run upstairs, heard some shuffling. He heard her feet skip down the stairs and she appeared with a little package.

She sat down next to him, her legs folded to the side, Harry wondering again if she was wearing a skirt or a pair of shorts underneath her top. She couldn't be wearing her underwear, could she? No, what was he thinking? Hermione wasn't _that_ comfortable around him. He decided to focus on her gift instead of her choice of bottom wear before his mind dwelled on more scandalous things, like no underwear or anything. He repositioned himself so that he was facing her.

"Do you want to guess?" She asked dancing the package in front of his eyes. Would she kiss him again tonight? Was he hoping so? Harry didn't know. But his toes felt funny when he thought about her lips on hers again. Why his toes though? He didn't know.

"I know I'm going to like it a lot." He offered and watched Hermione beam.

"That's too vague. Try again."

"Is it some kind of clothing?" He guessed, the way she was squishing it around.

"Oh, you're so smart."

"Shut up. Is it a dress robe?" He asked

"Nope."

"Pajama pants?"

"Nope, and you don't wear them anyways." She rolled her eyes. Harry blushed slightly. So she knew he rather sleep in his boxers.

"Is it a blanket?"

"We're sticking with clothing, remember?" She had such a smart mouth. A smart mouth he wouldn't mind kissing. No, he had to focus.

"Right, right. A shirt?"

"Kinda."

"A sweater?"

She looked at him for a bit. Was she going to kiss him? He wondered again. "Close enough." She said as she handed the package to him.

"Thanks." He said taking it. He carefully opened the wrapping, determined not to tear the paper like he used to when he was younger. Apparently Hermione found this very amusing. When he was finally done, he pulled out a scarlet and gold sweater with a Gryffindor badge on the left side.

"It _is_ a sweater. How is that 'close enough'?" He asked.

"It's not any sweater. Turn it around." Hermione urged and Harry did so.

On the back it said 'POTTER' in gold, like any Quiddich sweater he had seen at Hogwarts. Harry looked at Hermione puzzled, who was looking back at him expectedly.

"You gave me my Quiddich sweater…." he said slowly, looking down at the piece of clothing and faltered a bit when he noticed something. "But my number was 7 not 3…." He frowned but they widened in epiphany. He looked at Hermione in awe. "Where did you get this?"

"Who else would have something like that, that never came back to you? Mungdungus." Hermione replied. "It's lucky I got to buy it from him. I washed it a bit though, I hope you don't mind." She bit her lip, focusing Harry back to her mouth.

"No, no. It's brilliant." He said looking down at his father's Quiddich sweater. "Thanks Hermione." He said sincerely, looking at her straight in the eyes.

"It's my pleasure Harry." She said with a smile, though it faded when he touched his finger under her chin and did what he had been itching to do for the past couple of minutes; press his lips against hers. She didn't hesitate to kiss him back, just as gently, placing her hand on the side of his face. He hoped she didn't mind that his face wasn't smooth right then. He should've shaved this morning.

When their faces parted Harry looked at Hermione, nervously, wondering what was happening to them in the lonely big house. He bravely gave her a small smile, which she instantly returned. She took the sweater from his hands, folded it and placed it aside with the wrapping. Harry's heart thudded against his chest as she crawled up to him and kissed him again, this time a bit more firmly. His hands rested on her hip and her back to pull her to him.

"Do you want…. _Your_ present?" He asked in midst the kisses as she settled down on his lap.

"Don't worry about it." She said in a low voice, her lips skimming against his face. He closed his eyes, relishing the shivers that were travelling down his spine. It had been a while since he had felt anything this good. He nudged his nose against her cheek, trailed his lips against her ear and kissed the column of her neck.

"Do you remember….it was…" She sighed as Harry gave an open mouth kiss to the base of her neck. "… it was just last year we were at Godrics Hollow." She said, her eyes closed, lips parted.

"Hmmm…." Harry managed as he nipped her skin. She was squirming a lot; why was she squirming like that? It was exciting him and he knew what would happen if he got too excited. He shifted a bit to get more comfortable and at the end settled to pull her down to lie on top of him so he could lie on the floor. Oh, she fit against him like a snitch fit against his closed fist. Harry's right hand rested on her thigh and the other stroked her back. They kissed, sighed, moaned and kissed some more. They did it as if they've done it before. His hand on her thigh moved up slowly until his fingers felt a cotton material on her bum.

Hermione made a noise, something like a little squeak. His eyes flew open. Had he gone too far? This was Hermione, for Merlins sake, not Ginny who had been sexually active. He should remember to leash his excitement. But, goodness, it took him by surprise that she was only in her underwear.

"You're, you're not wearing… you're only wearing your underwear." Harry stated, his hand still on her bum.

"Well, I wasn't intending you to find out." She said indignantly with a blush blooming on her face. "I mean, I thought I might just wear my PJs since it was late."

"Anything else you're not wearing that I should know of?" He teased and stopped when he noticed Hermione blush even more. His hand that was stroking her back halted in understanding. How in the worlds had he not noticed how sexy his booky friend was? Or was it only around him? He wasn't complaining.

Harry merely kissed her again to end the awkwardness and she gladly embraced back. They were heating up with passion, moving against each other, hands exploring, when suddenly the clock gave a loud gong. Hermione jumped at the noise, bumping her nose against Harry's and his glasses going askew. He adjusted his glasses.

"It's just the clock." He said, stopping her from getting up. He liked the feeling of her on top of him, the view of her hair falling against the either sides of her face.

"Oh." Hermione said, relaxing. She had thought someone had come to visit.

"It's twelve, midnight." Harry said, in realization. "Merry Christmas, Hermione." He said and after a thought, kissed her cheek.

She smiled. "Merry Christmas, Harry." Her voice whispered sweetly over the cracking fire.

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**It would mean the worlds to me if you leave a review cause there's nothing else I look forward to when I post a story! Thank you for reading **

**If you would like to read another Christmas related Harry/Hermione fic, check out "Jealous" on my profile.  
A sneak peak of Jealous: **

Then I heard something. A tinkling music, which I had heard during Slughorn's Christmas Party when I was with Cormac. _This could not be happening….._I thought with a groan. Harry seemed to have noticed the sound and I think he recognized the noise as he looked up. I did too. A mistletoe hung above us, a glittering dust sprinkling down on to us. Harry looked at me bewildered. I blinked at him.

"We don't have to, right?" Harry stammered looking at me.


End file.
